Dana Foundation Recognizes Two Neuroscience & Society Champions with Inaugural Awards

The Dana Foundation, a longtime supporter of health research and education and a leader in the emerging field of neuroscience and society, awarded its inaugural Neuroscience & Society Champion Awards to neuroethicist Karen S. Rommelfanger, Ph.D., and psychiatrist Kafui Dzirasa, M.D., Ph.D. The awards were presented yesterday during a reception honoring the Foundation’s 75th anniversary.

“The Dana Foundation recognizes Karen Rommelfanger and Kafui Dzirasa for their outstanding efforts to bridge neuroscience and society through interdisciplinary work,” said Caroline Montojo, president and CEO of the Foundation. “Their contributions highlight the value of collaboration across traditional boundaries, and these awards aim to encourage broader support for neuroscience that meaningfully benefits people and their communities.”

Karen S. Rommelfanger: Neuroscience & Society Champion Award, in honor of Dana Foundation founder Charles A. Dana

Rommelfanger is a neurotech ethicist and strategist who has been instrumental in shaping the field of neuroethics, driving global dialogue on the ethical dimensions of emerging neurotechnologies, and ensuring that human rights, dignity, and cultural diversity are integrated into those conversations. She is the founder and director of the Institute of Neuroethics Think and Do Tank, the first think tank dedicated to neuroethics, which works across sectors to promote trusted neuroscience for all. She also launched Ningen Neuroethics Co-Lab, the first neuroethics consultancy, pioneering neuroethics-by-design approaches.

Her early career as a Ph.D.-trained neuroscientist organically evolved into neuroethics research, exploring how neuroscience challenges definitions of health across cultures and the ensuing societal implications of neurotechnology deployment. As a scholar, she maintains a faculty position in neurology at Emory University where she established a neuroethics program, and she has published extensively in neuroscience and neuroethics.

Rommelfanger is a member of the NIH BRAIN Neuroethics Working Group and co-authored the BRAIN 2.0 Neuroethics Roadmap. A recognized global leader in neuroethics, she has collaborated with and advised policy, research, and diplomacy organizations such as the Council of Europe, DARPA, GESDA Science Diplomacy Anticipator, OECD, and World Economic Forum.

Kafui Dzirasa: Neuroscience & Society Champion Award, in honor of past Dana Foundation CEO and Chairman David Mahoney.

Dzirasa has pioneered research integrating engineering and neurobiology to develop innovative treatments for psychiatric disorders and has advanced equitable access to mental health care and representation in STEM. His current research focuses on understanding how changes in the brain produce neurological and mental illness.

Dzirasa is the Eugene and Marie Washington Presidential Distinguished Professor at Duke University School of Medicine, with appointments in the departments of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, neurobiology, and biomedical engineering. He has served on the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director, as an associate scientific advisor for the journal Science Translational Medicine, as a member of the Congressional-mandated Next Generation Research Initiative, and on the Editorial Advisory Board for TEDMED.

In 2016, Dzirasa was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the nation’s highest award for scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. In 2017, he was recognized as 40 under 40 in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum. He was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2019, the National Academy of Medicine in 2021, and appointed as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2021.

The Neuroscience & Society Champion Award recipients were selected following a review process to ensure a broad and thoughtful evaluation of candidates. External nominators and internal canvassing efforts generated a diverse pool of nominees, which was refined through structured review by the Dana Foundation’s awards team. Final awardees were selected for their exceptional contributions to the field of neuroscience and society.

The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing neuroscience and society by supporting cross-disciplinary intersections such as neuroscience and ethics, law, policy, humanities, and arts.